Ranbaxy recalls generic Lipitor doses

Cholesterol fighting drug may contain small pieces of glass

Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. has recalled several doses of its generic version of Lipitor because some batches of the cholesterol fighter may contain small glass particles.

The generic drugmaker's website said it is recalling 10-, 20- and 40-milligram doses of atorvastatin calcium tablets. The recall is tied to certain lot numbers of the drug. It is not tied to an 80-milligram version of the tablets.

Patients can call the pharmacy where they filled their prescriptions if they are not sure about whether their prescription came from one of the recalled lot numbers.

Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals is a subsidiary of Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. The company said in a regulatory filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange its investigation into the recall will be completed within two weeks.

Lipitor, long the world's top-selling drug, lost U.S. patent protection nearly a year ago. Ranbaxy began selling its generic version of the drug last December, as did Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc., which made a version authorized by Pfizer. Several more generic versions of the drug then hit the market last May.

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